tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580089695075880782017-02-07T23:51:23.897-05:00Worldly VegetarianWorldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-54386215412455510762012-04-01T12:39:00.007-04:002012-04-01T14:43:07.783-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #32 - Lisa Simpson<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DwpsMeIQ9XQ/T3iOhZgjaSI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/wFlPeB1CfsM/s1600/Lisa_Simpson_vegetarian.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DwpsMeIQ9XQ/T3iOhZgjaSI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/wFlPeB1CfsM/s550/Lisa_Simpson_vegetarian.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726483630635837730" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lisa_Simpson.png</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Lisa Simpson</span></span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> This globally conscious, Buddhist, saxophone-playing feminist is best known for her television appearances on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Simpsons</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, a long-running (alternate) reality tv show. She may look young, but Lisa is an old pro in the entertainment business. She has been on television since 1987, when she first appeared on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Tracey Ullman Show. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lisa has also appeared in a movie about the life and times of her family called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Simpsons Movie</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Simpson" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Simpson</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegetarian: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Back when Lisa was 8, she went with her family to a petting zoo, in which she was able to interact with a number of adorable lambs. When the family returned home later that night, Lisa's mother Marge served lamb chops for dinner. Lisa looked at the meat on her plate, but could not eat it. She had made the connection that the meat came from an animal just like the little lambs she had met earlier that day. In fact, she decided she could no longer eat any animal. But Lisa did not get a lot of support for her vegetarianism from her family initially. She remembers her father telling her that "You don't win friends with salad," as he prepared to throw a BB(B)Q in the family backyard later that week. But Lisa decided to prepare some gazpacho for the BBQ just the same, so that there would be a vegetarian alternative at the party. Not only did no one eat the gazpacho, but all of the attendees of the party basically laughed in her face. However, Lisa's principles were so strong, and her annoyance so great, that she grabbed the roast pig from the BBQ, and took off with it on the family riding mower. Long story short, the pig ended up flying through the airspace of Lisa's hometown of Springfield. After a fight with her father later the next day, Lisa ran away from home.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Luckily, Lisa ran away to the right place, and was served a tofu dog at the local Kwik-E-Mart by the vegan attendant of the shop, Apu. Apu also introduced Lisa to Paul and Linda McCartney, who were gardening at that time at the end of a secret passageway behind the mart's non-alcoholic beer section. Paul, Linda, and Apu convinced Lisa that her feelings about animal rights were justified, but that her methods of influencing others need not be so extreme. Lisa left the store hoping to apologize to her family, and she ran into her father, who was out looking for her. The two apologized to each other, and Lisa's dad gave her a "veggie-back" ride (instead of a piggy-back ride) home.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Lisa has long been known to stand up for her political and social beliefs, both in and out of school. She is dedicated to her family, and is incredibly smart and driven. She also plays a mean jazz saxophone. I might also point out that, since she was 8 back in 1987, that makes Lisa 33 years old, and she still looks 8! The wonders of a vegetarian diet will never cease...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lisa has been credited by PETA as being one of the earliest and most prominent vegetarians on television. Her switch to vegetarianism even resulted in a </span><a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/about/events/genesis_awards/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Genesis Award</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Lisa's appearances on television have created innumerable memorable moments in the public consciousness, and her legacy will, I am sure, endure for a very long time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Lisa, since I'm not sure how easy it is for you to get out of Springfield without an adult (since you don't have a driver's license yet), I'm going to make you the Springfield correspondent for the Hot Vegan Army. My boyfriend reminded me that pointing you out as "hot" while you are in school might be a tad inappropriate, but I reminded him that you are really 33 years old, and that you've been on television basically 25 years now! So, welcome to the Hot Vegan Army Lisa.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oh, and by the way, April Fools everyone! I know it's not March anymore, but I guess I was a little reluctant to stop the March of the Hot Vegan Army, since I've been enjoying it so much...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But, don't worry, I'll still be posting lots of vegetarian/vegan recipes and photos on this blog coming up. And, if you liked the Hot Vegan Army posts this month, please let me know. Just comment on any of your favorite posts, and I'll do my best to respond ASAP. I'd love to hear from you!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And, though March 2012 is over, the hot vegans will continue to move forward with their cause. If you are interested in becoming a Hot Vegan or Vegetarian, I'd suggest you start by checking out PETA's website. You can even order a FREE vegetarian starter kit </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/free-vegetarian-starter-kit.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. If you would like to start off slowly and try one day of vegetarian meals per week, you can get free Meatless Monday recipes from the Humane Society </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/forms/meatfree_recipe_subscriptions.html" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I will definitely be posting lots of recipes and recommendations from my favorite vegan and vegetarian recipe books on the blog, and have done so in the past, so please feel free to check my older posts, and look for my newer ones coming soon. Also the web has a bounty of free vegan and vegetarian recipes for any taste, and I urge you to do some productive Googling if you are thinking about incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So thank you to all of you for reading, and I hope that the rest of the April Fools pranks pulled on you today will be just as benign as this one. Happy April Fools' Day all!</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-62497034849642500112012-03-31T19:41:00.006-04:002012-03-31T21:38:00.801-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #31 - Chloe Coscarelli<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcGO2TdbFvo/T3emlBtIKXI/AAAAAAAAAXE/c_n0fjrpvdw/s1600/Chloe_Coscarelli_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcGO2TdbFvo/T3emlBtIKXI/AAAAAAAAAXE/c_n0fjrpvdw/s550/Chloe_Coscarelli_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726228606267959666" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://eco-chick.com/2011/04/7816/heroines-for-the-planet-cupcake-queen-chloe-coscarelli/</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Chloe Coscarelli:</span></span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Know her from:</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> She might look like more of a model than a baker, but believe it or not, this fresh-faced and gorgeous young lady got her big culinary break on the Food Network. That big break came when she competed in - and won! - Food Network's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Cupcake Wars</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> in 2010. As the only vegan chef of the 4 contestants on the show, many considered the odds heavily stacked against her. But Chloe came out on top, winning the $10,000 prize, and the chance to provide 1000 of her cupcakes for a swanky party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel hosted by </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Ok! Magazine.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> She has worked professionally at the</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco, Counter Organic Vegetarian Bistro in NYC, and Herbivore Restaurant, in Berkeley, California. She has done guest spots on </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The Today Show, The Big Morning Buzz</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> on VH1, and CBS's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The Talk</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. She also published her very first cookbook </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451636741/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&amp;m=ATVPDKIKX0DER" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">out this month. I suspect that things will only go up for her from here.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Website: </span></span></b><a href="http://chefchloe.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://chefchloe.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/chloecoscarelli" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">https://twitter.com/#!/chloecoscarelli</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChloeCoscarelli" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">https://www.facebook.com/ChloeCoscarelli</span></span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why she's vegan:</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> Chloe said she became a vegetarian in about the 7th grade (which is totally when I did, I love her already!!!). She says that, at that time, she made the connection between her pet dogs and the animals that wound up on her plate. Why love one and eat the other? This question has been coming up more and more lately, and there is even a book about it called </span></span><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dogs-Pigs-Wear-Cows/dp/1573244619" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">But, back to the topic at hand</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Chloe credits the success of her vegetarian diet largely to the support of her family. Chloe's mother went to great lengths to make sure Chloe, still a child at the onset of her vegetarianism, had access to tasty, healthy foods, and a good selection of special eats on holidays like Thanksgiving. Chloe's family actually decided to make the switch to vegetarianism themselves when Chloe was in high school. At that time, Chloe decided to take that extra step to veganism, again because of her love for animals. Now, every holiday at the Coscarelli household is 100% vegan! Chloe says that vegan food never leaves her feeling exhausted or heavy after a meal the way that animal products did though.</span></span></span></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why she's awesome: </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I am basically amazed by this girl, because she had already graduated from UC Berkeley and the Natural Gourmet Institute, and appeared on </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Cupcake Wars</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> before the age of 23! She says she signed up for the Food Network showdown on a whim when she saw an ad on Twitter. Pretty bold! No guts, no glory though I suppose! (Although, it should be noted, there was nothing even resembling guts in her cupcakes...). Coscarelli is now a published author, and has worked in some nationally (if not internationally) renowned restaurants. Her cookbook also showed up at #1 on VegNews Magazine's (basically my favorite vegetarian magazine ever!) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4232&amp;catId=6" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">10 Must-Buy Vegan Cookbooks for 2012</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. Chloe is getting rave reviews for her recipes from vegans and non-vegans alike though, and she is really reaching her goal of proving just how interesting and varied vegan food can be. And additionally, </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Chloe is also sort of a poster girl for complete vegan health. In order to keep active, she does yoga, dance, and Exhale's Core Fusion. And she has some beautiful skin too!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So Chloe, you and all of your enthusiasm and ambition will fit right in in the Hot Vegan Army. And since you've already seen action in</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> the</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> Cupcake Wars </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">of 2010, I think you'll have to be our Army's version of Napoleon. You're pint-sized, and you seem set to take over the world. So welcome to the Hot Vegan Army!!!</span></span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-78405982493356485112012-03-30T23:53:00.010-04:002012-03-31T03:22:01.334-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #30 - Alan Cumming<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGkWPWkcvW4/T3aRn3pcpoI/AAAAAAAAAW4/7uZOni7_mOA/s1600/Alan_Cumming_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGkWPWkcvW4/T3aRn3pcpoI/AAAAAAAAAW4/7uZOni7_mOA/s550/Alan_Cumming_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725924090386884226" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://spykids.wikia.com/wiki/Alan_Cumming</span></i></span></div></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Alan Cumming</span></span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> This Scottish star of stage, screen, and film first came to greater prominence in the U.S. as a Broadway phenom in the show </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cabaret</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. He has also appeared in a number of movies and tv shows since then. His recent role on tv's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Good Wife</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> has earned him a series of Emmy and SAG award nominations. Some of his other tv credits include </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sex and the City, The L-Word</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Robot Chicken</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. His movies include </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Emma, </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">James Bond flick </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">GoldenEye, </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Spy Kids,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Circle of Friends, Nicholas Nickleby</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, Stanley Kubrick's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Eyes Wide Shut, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a role as Nightcrawler in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">X2: X-Men United</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, voice work in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Garfield</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Smurfs</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and a movie Cumming co-wrote called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Anniversary Party. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Alan also launched a line a fragrances with a cheeky nod to his last name, called "Cumming."</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.alancumming.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://www.alancumming.com/</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's vegan: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cumming has been a vegetarian since 2010, due partially to his dislike for meat, but also for reasons of health. He says that the hormones and additives in meat, and the potential toxicity of fish, have convinced him to avoid these products. But he has publicly credited Mike Tyson's switch to a vegan diet as his instigation for going "whole hog" to completely animal-free foods starting in January.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> One of my first introductions to Cumming was through his appearances on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Late-Night with Conan O'Brien</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, back when Conan was filming in NYC. I always loved to hear that Cumming was going to be a featured guest because he was just so laugh-out-loud hysterical. He is raunchy, rude and gratuitous, and still manages to have this childlike fun and innocence about him - even when he is saying something barely airable on television. For sure, neither Conan nor I could ever keep a straight face. Seriously, if Alan Cumming is ever being interviewed on something, take some time and watch it. He's a riot, and he seems to be saying everything completely off the cuff. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The funny thing is that Cumming has played many very serious roles in his career, and he attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. He has even done Shakespeare. But he definitely is not the sort of actor to put on any "airs" about the roles he takes. The guy's got a definite and irrepressible sense of humor and liveliness, and it just kind of makes me happy to hear or see him in the media. I think of him as one of those people who are young at heart, which is always a good way to be. I mean, heck, he tweeted "Get ye back, seitan!" when he decided to become vegan. I can tell you, most vegans will always appreciate a seitan joke...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Mr. Cumming, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RF-AFJ5VFs" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">willkommen</span></a> to the Hot Vegan Army. I think you will have absolutely no trouble keeping us all from being too serious and not having fun. Veganism is certainly not about repressing anything or being deprived, and I think you'll remind us all to follow our bliss as well as our consciences. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We all hope you won't be "going" anytime soon. :-)</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-27580348060436425222012-03-29T17:05:00.009-04:002012-03-30T00:25:40.222-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #29 - Jessica Chastain<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wc395o79Y7A/T3U0aM073EI/AAAAAAAAAWs/jZTSNcY0h88/s1600/jessica_chastain_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wc395o79Y7A/T3U0aM073EI/AAAAAAAAAWs/jZTSNcY0h88/s550/jessica_chastain_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725540125995949122" /></a><b><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2012/02/27/240310-jessica-chastain.jpg</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Jessica Chastain</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Jessica was nominated for an Oscar in the celebrated film </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Help</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. In this film, Chastain played the busty Marilyn Monroe-esque Celia Foote, who was learning how to cook for her husband, and trying her best to make friends in town. Chastain also appeared in 4 other movies last year: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tree of Life </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(co-starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn), </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wilde Salome</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (in which she was hand-picked by co-star Al Pacino), </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Texas Killing Fields</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Coriolanus</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Take Shelter</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Additionally, she's made appearances in numerous other films and tv shows, such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Debt</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> with Helen Mirren (in which Jessica played the younger Mirren), and the shows </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Journeyman, Law and Order, Veronica Mars, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">E.R.</span></i><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Chastain" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Chastain</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Chastain's mother is a vegan chef (score!) and I'm sure that certainly contributed to Chastain's eating habits. But Chastain has been a vegan for about 6 years, and a vegetarian for about 16 years. She says that her reason for eating/living this way is because she doesn't want to "torture anything," (</span><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1567113/bio" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">imdb.com</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">) or do something that contributes to cruelty in the world. And Jessica is true to her beliefs no matter what. Anyone who's seen </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Help</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> may remember a scene in which Chastain's character learns to make good old-fashioned southern fried chicken. However, what Chastain actually chowed down on in the scene was a tofu dog wrapped in Tofurkey, battered and deep fried. I gotta be honest, that sounds pretty tasty to me. Chastain also cooked a meal of vegan soul food for costar and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in her apartment in Mississippi. I'm not sure what Chastain cooked, but I bet it was delicious. I have a feeling her mom taught her well! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Funny vegan story though, Jessica had to gain 15 pounds to play the curvaceous Celia Foote, which was a bit of a challenge for the healthy and fit Chastain. Our fair Jessica is not only a healthy vegan, but she is a fan of yoga, both things that make it tough to gain weight quickly. The story is it took daily doses of microwaved soy ice cream (which Chastain drank as a beverage...eeewww!) to put on that extra 15. But Chastain quickly went back to her healthy lifestyle after filming though, and dropped the excess pounds pretty darn quick.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Fun fact, Jessica attended college at Juilliard, largely owing to a scholarship she received from famous alumnus Robin Williams (who, coincidentally, has become a raw food vegan lately to prevent himself from having another heart attack). Another fun fact, Chastain has 2 rescue dogs, including an adorable 3-legged dog. You can see the latter dog </span><a href="http://teddyhilton.com/2012-01-23-jessica-chastain-was-spotted-walking-her-cute-three-legged-little-doggy" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. This California native - true to the Southern charm she exudes in her role in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Help - </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">says it's important to her that everyone she meets in this world feels valued by her. As a lifestyle, I think that's pretty awesome...She also says she works really hard to maintain friendships with people she works with, no matter where her whirlwind lifestyle takes her. Chastain seems down to earth, and way more concerned with taking jobs she's proud of, and that she can learn from, than in following a strategic career plan. She loves her life and work, and seems full of enthusiasm and gratitude. She even says failure is not a big fear for her because "when you fail, you learn more." (imdb.com) </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Ms. Chastain, I heartily welcome you to the Hot Vegan Army. I can truly say I appreciate you as a person, and I look forward to even more impressive performances in the future. And give those cute little dogs of yours some extra pats for the rest of the army, wouldja?</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-34550126401020431662012-03-28T22:43:00.007-04:002012-03-29T02:04:36.033-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #28 - Mac Danzig<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVl0rIcpJ8s/T3PVZATDsAI/AAAAAAAAAWg/4VmMQz1Imcc/s1600/mac_danzig_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVl0rIcpJ8s/T3PVZATDsAI/AAAAAAAAAWg/4VmMQz1Imcc/s550/mac_danzig_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725154176871411714" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://stek.org/professionals/ufc/mac-danzig/</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Mac Danzig</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Know him from: </b>Danzig is an UFC fighter and mixed martial artist. According to </span><a href="http://stek.org/professionals/ufc/mac-danzig/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Muscle Works Magazine</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, Danzig has held the following titles during his career: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">MMA national amateur MMA champion, Gladiator Challenge lightweight champion, IFC lightweight champion, 5 time King of the Cage world lightweight champion, and The Ultimate Fighter season six winner. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now, I'll admit, pacifist as I am, I'm not really into blood sports. But one of the points of my March posts is to prove that you can be anyone you want to be and still be a vegan. Even if that person you want to be happens to be in a ring pounding the, let's say </span><a href="http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/accidentally-vegan.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jujubees</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, out of another consenting adult...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Website:</b> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig</span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://macdanzigphotography.wordpress.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://macdanzigphotography.wordpress.com/</span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Why he's vegan:</b> Despite the fact that Danzig makes a living fighting human beings, he refuses to contribute to animal suffering. He believes that animals should not be subjected to cruel and inhumane practices because they don't have a choice in the matter. As he sees it, people do have a choice. Danzig says that one of the most profound moments he remembers in his childhood was the day he saw a truck full of pigs headed for the slaughterhouse. Danzig was 13 years old at this time. He remembers making eye contact with one of the pigs in the truck, an intelligent creature destined for a cruel end, and it made him really sad. But Danzig grew up in a family without much money to go around, so they ate what they could get their hands on. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Danzig cut dairy products out of his diet back in 1999 though, due to a series of debilitating chronic sinus problems he traced to his dairy intake. While his situation is not typical, dairy allergies are no joke. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mac tried veganism for a year in his early 20s, but he believed what others told him when he started training in mixed martial arts in 2000, that animal protein is necessary for success in sports training. However, with support from MMA trainer </span><a href="http://www.mikemahler.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mark Mahler</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, Danzig learned he could train for the sport he loves without taxing his conscience. Danzig became vegan in 2004, and has upheld this diet and lifestyle ever since.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Why he's awesome:</b> It seems hard to believe, but Danzig's last job before he started fighting was working in an animal sanctuary in Pennsylvania called Ooh-Mah-Nee Farm. It is at this farm that he first met a committed group of passionate vegans, and began his first foray into this lifestyle. I think this is awesome because it is a unique story, and because Danzig has followed his dreams and his heart both inside and outside of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/octagon" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Octagon</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. As atypical as the combination might be, Danzig loves fighting professionally, and is passionate about animal welfare. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also, did I mention Mac's a pretty accomplished photographer? Check out his website above. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And, while I typically prefer non-violent means of exercise, just look at the guy. His abs have abs. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To get that intense physique, Danzig says that he chows down on brown rice, tempeh, quinoa, legumes like beans and lentils, portobello mushrooms, veggies (particularly leafy greens like collard greens, spinach, and kale), fruit, nuts and seeds, alternative milks, Brendan Brazier's </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://myvega.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Vega Protein Powder</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and a supplement called </span><a href="http://theultimatelife.net/CatalogMeal.htm" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Ultimate Meal</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. When he's not in training, Mac hits the thai food, soy ice cream, seitan, and other imitation meats pretty hard. But the less processed food he puts in his body the better when he's training.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Another great thing about Mac Danzig is that he proves veganism and testosterone do mix. I don't think anyone could call this guy a wuss just for being a vegan and live to tell about it. Although, Danzig urges vegetarians not to try to change people by force. Non-vegetarians aren't "evil," he said in a </span><a href="http://www.peta2.com/outthere/o-macdanzig.asp" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">PETA article</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, they may just not know the information that convinced vegetarians to try the lifestyle. Danzig urges vegetarians to take the opportunity to discuss animal issues in a non-confrontational way when someone asks a question. Danzig also says, if you're passionate, get involved, either politically, or through volunteering. You can help your cause, he says, and life's too short to put it off. Now that is a pretty manly thing to say if you ask me.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Mac, I think you'll be in charge of Hot Vegan Army Boot Camp. You seem to know how to defend yourself pretty well, and how to train hard to meet rigorous physical goals. I'm also pretty sure you have that certain air of authority. If you yell at me to drop and give you 20, I'm sure gonna do it...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Welcome to the Army Mac. Keep kickin' it new school. We're right behind you.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-22588684578737560102012-03-27T21:21:00.007-04:002012-03-27T23:25:54.511-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #27 - Emily Deschanel<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-szDEPeN0nIo/T3JxMHXfVUI/AAAAAAAAAWU/AoXGMZVlN5Y/s1600/Emily_Deschanel_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-szDEPeN0nIo/T3JxMHXfVUI/AAAAAAAAAWU/AoXGMZVlN5Y/s550/Emily_Deschanel_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724762529291261250" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.allcelebspics.com/emily-deschanel-pictures-2/</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Emily Deschanel</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> This statuesque beauty is primarily known for her role in the tv series </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bones</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, a popular crime scene investigation show now in its 7th season! Emily also appeared in several well-known films, such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cold Mountain</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Glory Road</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It Could Happen to You</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. In the last movie in that list, Emily's feature film debut, Emily played a paint-throwing fur activist. So even some of her screen roles reflect some of her animal-loving values. I'd also like to note that Emily appeared in a few episodes of the tv show </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_(TV_series)" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Providence</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> back in 2002, a show so near and dear to my Rhode Island heart :-)</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Website:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Deschanel" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Deschanel</span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0221043/bio" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0221043/bio</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Emily has been vegan for 19, almost 20 years now, to which I can only say "Wow!" and "Go Emily!" She says that she went vegetarian, and then vegan, back in high school after watching </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Diet for a New America</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (a film - and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diet-New-America-John-Robbins/dp/0915811812" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">accompanying book</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> - which discuss the implications of dietary choices on health and global concerns). Emily even remained vegan throughout her pregnancy and the birth of her first child last September. Emily has been an advocate of animal rights (and vegan health) for years, working with the Humane Society, Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Farm Sanctuary, recently signing on to promote national </span><a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/animalrights/bones-star-emily-deschanel-fights-for-farm-animals/3718/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">walks for farm animals</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. The lifestyle also seems to agree with her too, judging by her notably beautiful clear skin and healthy physique. She says she sticks with her lifestyle, however, not for beauty, but because she doesn't want to contribute to animal suffering. She says that "</span><a href="http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/emily-deschannel-talks-to-womens-health" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">looking good</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">" wouldn't be enough of a motivation for her on its own.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Emily is not only the star of her series </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bones</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, she is also its producer, and has been since the 3rd season of the show. Her brainy character on the series is obviously not such a departure from reality it seems. She says she does try to have some episodes in the series focus on animal welfare, but she tries not to be too excessive about it. She has gotten costar David Boreanaz, who initially made fun of her veganism, to commit to Meatless Mondays, however. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Emily seems incredibly honest and down to earth, and says that beauty, for her, is being comfortable with yourself and who you are, "warts and all" as they say. Emily says she gets more confident and more comfortable every year, and that her long-time friends from when she was growing up have really kept her grounded. I admire her because she seems to know what she wants in life, and not accept anything less. I think that that is a great way to view your life and its challenges, no matter what they are.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So Emily, due to your skills of keen observation, I think you'll have to be the first one to the scene when crimes have been committed within the Hot Vegan Army. Someone's kale chips and hummus are bound to go missing in an unexplained fashion one of these days, even if they are labeled clearly in the refrigerator. I know you'll be able to get to the bottom of it...unless you were the one who got to the bottom of the bowl of hummus....though I am pretty sure you're too principled for that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Welcome to the Hot Vegan Army, Emily. And congrats on the </span><a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/emily-deschanel-baby-henry-is-very-advanced-for-his-age-201293" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">new addition</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> to your family! </span></div><div><br /></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-73558437304876241812012-03-26T23:41:00.006-04:002012-03-27T23:28:46.062-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #26 - George Laraques<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jf_kp6frWi0/T3FJiLRsvnI/AAAAAAAAAWI/4uC3weYfWkg/s1600/Georges_laraque_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jf_kp6frWi0/T3FJiLRsvnI/AAAAAAAAAWI/4uC3weYfWkg/s550/Georges_laraque_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724437452856016498" /></a><b><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.georgeslaraque.com/default.asp?mn=1.39.57</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Georges Laraque</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know him from:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Georges is a recently-retired* hockey player from the noble northern nation of Canada (a country I love almost as much as my own). During his active career, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, and, most recently, the Montreal Canadiens. Since his retirement, Georges has been actively involved with Canada's </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_Canada" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Green Party</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, of which Laraque is now a deputy leader. Georges also hosts a sports radio show based out of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. OMG I just read how he owns Crudessence, a vegan raw food restaurant with 2 locations in Montreal. I totally went there this past fall. Georges you are my hero...</span><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.georgeslaraque.com/default.asp?mn=1.39.100" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.georgeslaraque.com/default.asp?mn=1.39.100</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why he's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Laraque became a vegan back in 2009 because he does not believe in treating animals as commodities. After this animal lover saw the film </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Earthlings</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, he could not, in good conscience, eat animals, wear animals, or pay to see them in circuses or zoos. Georges also cares about the environment, and notes that the environmental toll of animal agriculture is incredibly high. Georges is an athlete though, and thus also cares very much about his nutrition and physical health, so he contacted a nutritionist to help him ensure that his nutritional requirements were being met with his very active lifestyle. Seriously, you have to be on your game if you're either body-checking someone into the wall in an ice rink, or getting checked yourself. So, "check yourself before you wreck yourself" is kind of a rule with Georges Laraque. I can respect that. </span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why he's awesome: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Georges says that he's not on a mission to "veganize" everyone, but rather to help people to educate themselves about what they buy, and about what they are putting in their bodies. He notes on his website that if you can get through </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Earthlings</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and still eat meat, then that is your choice, but he still thinks that people should see what their dollars contribute to with open eyes. Georges states on his website that, when you make a strong stand, there will always be people who react negatively. Georges' stance on the slaughter of seals in Canada's yearly seal hunt (many of the seals are killed at age 3 mos. or less), and his affiliation with PETA, will not make him friends everywhere he goes. And also, when you connect yourself with any political party, there will obviously be people who disagree with you. I appreciate that Laraque is willing to put his opinions out there, come what may. And honestly, with his fight record in professional hockey, I wouldn't want to mess with him...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I know I'm not making too much of a "</span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=31znPJH56zAC&amp;pg=PA142&amp;lpg=PA142&amp;dq=Laraque+leap&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=a8sulAUj3t&amp;sig=sLW1i48y0a2mrDu-ymSBAK-XwrQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=lUNxT9OmFY-60QHC9vzoAw&amp;ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&amp;q=Laraque%20leap&amp;f=false" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Laraque Leap</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">" here, but Georges isn't just another pretty face. He is a businessman (see his restaurant holdings above!), a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Georges-Laraque-Story-Unlikeliest-Tough/dp/0670065900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1332821887&amp;sr=8-1" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">published author</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and philanthropist. Georges was born to Haitian parents, and has been active in the recovery effort in Haiti after 2010's devastating earthquake. If that weren't enough, Georges also </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">reads</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. He took part in the "Canada Reads" literary competition last year. He also practices yoga. I'm pretty sure that growing up in Montreal with Haitian-born parents, he probably also speaks French. Go ahead y'all. Swoon away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So, Mr. Laraque, given that you eat organic food, market your own special juicer, and that you own Crudessence restaurant (p.s. loved the raw avocado key lime pie!), I am going to ask that you head up the raw nutritional division of the Hot Vegan Army. I think I just also really want to hear people all around the Hot Vegan Army barracks shouting "Can you smell what Laraque </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">isn't</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> cooking?" :-)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Welcome to the Hot Vegan Army man. Glad to have you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">*Please note: Laraque retired due to herniated disks in his back - not because of his veganism. I mean, it is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">hockey</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> after all...you do kind of get slammed around a lot...The end.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-35560641982420597032012-03-24T23:30:00.006-04:002012-03-25T14:39:05.701-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #25 - Kathy Freston<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t3C5U3szCsM/T26RzgV9Q-I/AAAAAAAAAV8/57Pew8A_tYk/s1600/kathy_freston_vegan_veganist.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t3C5U3szCsM/T26RzgV9Q-I/AAAAAAAAAV8/57Pew8A_tYk/s550/kathy_freston_vegan_veganist.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723672490475865058" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://vegetarianstar.com/2011/03/16/kris-carr-or-kathy-freston-who-would-you-vegan-best-sellers-edition/</span></i></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Kathy Freston</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Her bestselling books, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Veganist</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Quantum Wellness, Quantum Wellness Cleanse, The One, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Expect a Miracle</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, or, possibly, from, you know, OPRAH! Freston famously convinced Oprah to take part in a 21-day vegan challenge, along with a good portion of Oprah's staff - a few of them fast-food-aholics. In fact, basically an entire Oprah show was dedicated to veganism and the challenge. Despite some bumps along the way, a number of the staff liked how they felt so much that they decided to stay vegan long after the 21 days were up. Freston has also appeared on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, Extra, Martha Stewart, the View, Ellen, Dr. Oz</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and in many other shows and magazines. Freston's newest book </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Revolutionary-Healthy-Lasting/dp/1602861730/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1332650681&amp;sr=1-1" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, and Lasting Weight Loss</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> will be available on Tuesday 3/27.</span></span></span></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.kathyfreston.com/index.html" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.kathyfreston.com/index.html</span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Kathy is a vegan for numerous reasons, among them nutrition and wellness, the current cruel methods of factory farming, ecological issues, animal rights, human rights violations in the slaughter industry, and spiritual reasons.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> In addition to being gorgeous and fit, Kathy Freston is also a logical, realistic, and understanding person. She continuously urges people not to try to change every bad habit they've ever had in one fell swoop. Phew! She advocates what she calls "leaning" into change. She believes that people are much more likely to develop positive, lasting patterns of good health - mentally, physically, and spiritually - if they do not hold themselves to impossible standards. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I can't help but agree. I would never have been able to go vegan overnight and stick with it. I was a vegetarian for many years before I decided to make the switch to veganism, and I took months to make the transition. I hear many people, even a number of celebrities, talking about what an "easy" time they had becoming a vegan, but that was not 100% true for me, and I know it isn't true for everyone. It's still one of my best-ever life decisions, but it wasn't a cakewalk. Even if becoming vegan is easy for some, I think it's best that people not assume an inconvenience-free transition. You know %$*! happens...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ms. Freston, I admire you for being able to bend the ear of some of the most influential personalities in the media today, and for bringing vegan issues to a wider audience than ever before. The power of positive thinking is no joke when it gets you on Oprah to promote your books. Respect.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Kathy, welcome to the Hot Vegan Army. I know you'll have a sympathetic ear for the rest of us when stuff gets us down, so I appoint you Spiritual Counselor to the Hot Vegan Army. Also, if you could casually introduce me and my mom to Oprah I would get daughter points FOR LIFE. Just putting it out there...</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-2272515741734055442012-03-24T21:27:00.007-04:002012-03-24T23:13:26.294-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #24 - John Salley<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5mBcicH8qQ/T26LKA3xpHI/AAAAAAAAAVw/bUs2flgZtGA/s1600/john_salley_vegan.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5mBcicH8qQ/T26LKA3xpHI/AAAAAAAAAVw/bUs2flgZtGA/s550/john_salley_vegan.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723665180583371890" /></a><b><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://listentoleon.net/index.php/2009/05/14/who-is-john-salleys-agent/</span></i></span></div><div><b><br /></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">John Salley</span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Know him from:</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> John Salley is a former NBA championship athlete. He played for the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and the L.A. Lakers. After his retirement from professional basketball, he tried his hand at acting, and appeared in the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Bad Boys</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> movies (1 and 2) alongside Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. He also appeared in the Whoopi Goldberg movie </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Eddie</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> and, more recently, he played a shopaholic attending group therapy with Isla Fisher in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Confessions of a Shopaholic</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. Salley has also hosted a number of tv shows, including </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The Best Damn Sports Show Period</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, which he hosted for 7 years. He was also host of BET's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Ballers</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, and VH1's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Basketball Wives</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. </span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Website: </span></span></b><a href="http://johnsalley.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://johnsalley.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thejohnsalley" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://twitter.com/#!/thejohnsalley</span></span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why he's vegan: </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">A bad breakup back in 1991 spurred John to start taking control of his health and well-being. He tried a few different diets before adhering to vegetarianism. He said that he didn't want to age quickly or become out of shape, and the vegetarian diet helped him meet his goals - even while playing championship basketball. Salley went a step further and became a vegan in 2008, to help control his genetically-high cholesterol. He then became a raw vegan in 2010 when he heard that that diet could help to reverse or prevent </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA6gHUTjx4A" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">diabetes</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, a disease from which John's father suffered. John even produced a documentary film called </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. I can't say I know a ton about the science behind the raw food movement, but I will say that John Salley appears to be in very good shape at 47 years of age. I will also note that he has tweeted a few times recently (twitter handle above) that "Healthy is the new SEXY." </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">In addition to promoting the health benefits of veganism, Salley encourages people to "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_xtVCfB3E" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">vote with your fork, 3 times a day</span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">," and stop supporting factory farms. When Salley saw behind-the-scenes videos of slaughterhouses for the first time, it just solidified the vegetarianism he adopted back in 1991. When you see something like that, he says, "</span></span><a href="http://www.peta.org/tv/videos/vegetarianism/822802385001.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">you're either hot or cold, you can't be lukewarm</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">." Salley says that vegan food also makes him feel good, healthy, and strong, and he wonders if he might not still be playing basketball today if he had dropped animal products from his diet sooner. </span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why he's awesome: </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">John is certainly not a one-hit wonder. He is a multi-talented athlete, actor, multimedia personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is affiliated with </span></span><a href="http://www.operationsmile.org/index.html" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Operation Smile</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">,which helps children around the world, </span></span><a href="http://www.farmsanctuary.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Farm Sanctuary</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, an animal rescue and rehabilitation center, </span></span><a href="http://www.peta.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">PETA</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, an organization dedicated to exposing and preventing animal cruelty, and the </span></span><a href="http://www.pcrm.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. An avid foodie, John contributes to magazines and makes appearances promoting his healthy vegan lifestyle. He also runs his own production company these days, where he works to spot new talent for tv and film. In addition, he writes for his blog and posts videos on his website Johnsalley.com (please see above). In fact, his most recent post says he's hosting a </span></span><a href="http://johnsalley.com/blog/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">cooking class</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> at the Northridge, California Whole Foods on 3/27! Line up now Californians!!!!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">In a way, John Salley is kind of like a tall vegan Madonna...now hear me out on this one....This guy continues to reinvent himself, and he always looks for new opportunities to get involved with something great, challenging, and fun. He comes by it honestly too, because he even managed to get his mother to go vegetarian at the age of 84. So in case you're thinking vegetarianism is only a younger person's game, just look to Mama Salley.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So Mr. Salley, you are formally invited to join the Hot Vegan Army. And not just to reach the stuff on the high shelf either...I think you'll have to be the host of our new reality show: Hot Vegan Naked Chef. Are you in, or are you in? </span></span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-52433360741003701192012-03-23T20:45:00.007-04:002012-03-23T22:37:37.127-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #23 - Betty White<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FY_6z1zbgGU/T20eYQnp2eI/AAAAAAAAAVk/60rYlH4SA40/s1600/Betty_White_vegan_Hugh_Jackman_shower.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FY_6z1zbgGU/T20eYQnp2eI/AAAAAAAAAVk/60rYlH4SA40/s550/Betty_White_vegan_Hugh_Jackman_shower.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723264103584750050" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/betty_white_or_hugh_jackman_who_jKs62lzD6MVz2RJKqHqahI</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Betty White</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oh where to begin...</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hot in Cleveland</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Golden Girls</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, T</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he Mary Tyler Moore Show</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mama's Family</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Carol Burnett Show</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Empty Nest</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Who's the Boss</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Love Boat</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Bold and the Beautiful</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That 70s Show</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, an unforgettable job hosting </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">SNL</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You Again</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (with fellow vegan Kristen Bell), and scores and scores of memorable appearances in movies, tv, radio, print, etc etc etc. At 90 years old, she shows no signs of slowing down, and she even lent her voice to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dr. Suess's "The Lorax"</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> movie, recently in theaters. Betty White is kind of my hero. She has never stopped having fun or enjoying what she does for a living. She's pretty much who I aspire to be if I'm ever that lucky...</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924508/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924508/</span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_White" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_White</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Betty White has been a lifelong animal lover. She says that animals never lie, and love you unconditionally. Betty remembers her love for animals beginning during her childhood, as her parents used to take in and care for stray animals all the time. Ms. White has been affiliated with the </span><a href="http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Morris Animal Foundation</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in particular since the 1970s, and has also worked with the ASPCA. She is also on the board of the L.A. Zoo, working behind the scenes to improve the lives of the animals there. In fact, Jane Goodall helped to design the gorilla habitat at that zoo. Betty doesn't like to be called an activist though because she wants people to focus on making positive strides for the health and wellbeing of animals. Sometimes, she says, people associate activists with the negative issues they bring to light, not with the more constructive solutions they present. She considers herself more of a "do-er" than a "talker" anyway. And boy do I believe her with all she's accomplished in an uncertain industry...</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I don't think it's strong enough to call Betty a "spitfire," or say that there are "no flies on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">her,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">" but those things are nonetheless true. She is always looking for a new way to love her life and help others to enjoy themselves too, whether they are humans or animals, and whether her jokes are family-friendly or risqué. But honestly, she's kind of been associated with sex for a long time. Her character on the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mary Tyler Moore Show</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> was a vain and promiscuous woman, her character on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Golden Girls</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> was pretty shy, but still managed to have herself a good time (even if she wouldn't talk about it in public), and her character on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hot in Cleveland</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> has been well-known for spouting some raunchy and suggestive one-liners. And it doesn't just stop there...Whether Betty is </span><a href="http://flavorwire.com/249937/the-best-moments-from-betty-whites-birthday-special" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">kissing </span></span></a><i><a href="http://flavorwire.com/249937/the-best-moments-from-betty-whites-birthday-special"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Chuck</span></span></a></i><a href="http://flavorwire.com/249937/the-best-moments-from-betty-whites-birthday-special" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'s Zachary Levi full on the mouth</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> after his "proposal" to her on her televised 90th Birthday celebration, playing </span><a href="http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/beer-pong-jimmy-vs-betty-white-rematch-5610/1225712" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">beer pong with Jimmy Fallon</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, or </span><a href="http://videos.nymag.com/video/Betty-White-Showers-With-Hugh-J;Featured-in-Entertainment#c=RLF9841PQT4084Q5&amp;t=Betty%20White%20Showers%20With%20Hugh%20Jackman" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">hopping in the shower</span></span></a><a href="http://videos.nymag.com/video/Betty-White-Showers-With-Hugh-J;Featured-in-Entertainment#c=RLF9841PQT4084Q5&amp;t=Betty%20White%20Showers%20With%20Hugh%20Jackman" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">with Hugh Jackman, Betty solidifies her reputation as a lifelong partier and a woman who loves her good times. And does she look or act 90? I don't think so...I just can't stop smiling when I see her, and she's an absolute role model.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Betty, I think you get the lifetime achievement award when it comes to hotness. You've got years of experience on the rest of the Hot Vegan Army, and all of our soldiers could learn a lot from you. I know that you're one of the busiest women in Hollywood these days though, so we will understand if you can only fly in for periodic consulting. However, I know you're </span><a href="http://www.spike.com/video-clips/sskyda/snickers-betty-white-plays-football" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">tough as nails</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and real Army material, so I trust you're in this thing for the long haul. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So welcome to the Army, Betty. Try not to show the rest of us up too much, ok?</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-83002630957647000352012-03-22T13:52:00.010-04:002012-03-23T01:17:16.646-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #22 - Carl Lewis<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7k4feKSxmM/T2wGJm4dvtI/AAAAAAAAAVY/7l60vgtD0TM/s1600/carl_lewis_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7k4feKSxmM/T2wGJm4dvtI/AAAAAAAAAVY/7l60vgtD0TM/s550/carl_lewis_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722955988607024850" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/index.php#mi=2&amp;pt=1&amp;pi=10000&amp;s=2&amp;p=1&amp;a=2&amp;at=0</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Carl Lewis</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Lewis is a former world-class athlete and 10-time Olympic Medal Winner (9 of these medals were gold). He also won 10 World Championship medals, and 8 of these were gold. His best year of track and field was in 1991, the first year he became vegan. </span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://fitforever.com/help/about_us" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://fitforever.com/help/about_us</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Carl had very bad eating habits when he attended the University of Houston. He was a competitive athlete, and he ate meat, but tried to control his weight in an unhealthy way, by skipping meals. He was so hungry by dinnertime that he ate to excess during this final meal of the day. Carl started to realize that he was not treating his body well, and wanted to make a change. Just at the right time it seems, he met Jay Kordich (a.k.a. the "</span><a href="http://www.jaykordich.com/Meet-Jay-W1.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Juiceman</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"), and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.drmcdougall.com/about.html" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dr. John McDougall</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">who urges better living through improved nutrition</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The former encouraged Carl to optimize his health with the power of fresh plant foods and their juices, and the latter urged Carl to try a vegetarian diet. Carl chose to go vegan in 1990, with support from McDougall, who told Carl that it was necessary to eat enough calories to sustain his energy levels through strenuous workouts and training. Plant foods are nutritionally rich, but not as calorie dense as meat, so more food volume is required to reach proper daily calorie levels. Many people, including Carl, appreciate this benefit, because it is possible to eat a much larger amount of plant foods without gaining weight, keeping one fuller and more satisfied.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> It's pretty much fantastic if someone wins 1 Olympic medal (no matter what it's made out of) nevermind 10. And when you compete against the best athletes in the world and come out on top, it's pretty darn notable. As mentioned above, Carl credits his best year as an athlete, 1991, to his vegan diet. He won the 100 m competition at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, beating the #1 athletes in that event from the past 2 years, and setting a world record. He called it the best race of his life, and he was 30 years old, an age when many Olympic athletes are considered past their prime. That same year, Lewis also set a record in the long jump competition, that has still - as of the writing of this article - not been surpassed. It has even been suggested that Lewis is the greatest track and field athlete in history.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Since Lewis's retirement from world-class competitive sports in 1997, he has worked as an actor, and even tried to run for the Senate in New Jersey in 2011, but was disqualified due to state residency requirements. He has also created FitForever.com (see "website" above) and the Carl Lewis Foundation, in order to encourage people of all ages (but especially children) to live healthy and fit lifestyles. I think you have to be a pretty confident person, driven by your own goals, and completely self-motivated, to succeed in any one of the areas that Lewis has ventured into. I admire people who go after what they want, even if it doesn't make perfect sense to others. Carl Lewis is another vegan who proves that one can be healthy and meet many impressive health and fitness goals on a completely plant-based diet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Carl, I am thinking you are going to have to run the Boot Camp for the Hot Vegan Army. You have dominated in the health and fitness arena, and I think you could whip all the hot vegans into even more impressive shape. Welcome to the army man.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-38359883603925454652012-03-21T16:32:00.010-04:002012-03-22T13:13:15.310-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #21 - Ani Phyo<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XC5Gi2K99IU/T2qeMSqVJEI/AAAAAAAAAVM/IOV12qjs6VQ/s1600/ani_phyo_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XC5Gi2K99IU/T2qeMSqVJEI/AAAAAAAAAVM/IOV12qjs6VQ/s550/ani_phyo_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722560210532639810" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.1ecs.com/ani-phyos.php</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Ani Phyo</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ani is a raw vegan chef, an "eco-lifestylist," and 5-times published author. Ani's name and image have become almost synonymous with raw vegan food, and she is constantly enriching and expanding the world of raw cuisine. For her, raw food isn't just wheatgrass smoothies that taste like lawn clippings, it's pad thai, cobblers, cakes, lasagna, etc.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://aniphyo.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://aniphyo.com/</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Ani gave up red meat back in 1986, and gradually cut other meat and animal products from her diet over the next few years. The moment that solidified her decision to go completely vegan was a bite of horribly-cooked fast-food hamburger on a late night food run. The meat was not only distasteful to Ani, but she knew it wasn't healthy either, so she decided that only healthy, tasty food would be on her menu from that point on. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ani also believes in sustainable agriculture and making as minimal an impact on the natural environment as possible. Plant foods are generally easier on the environment than animal food, and animal food production generally includes cruel factory farming practices. Ani has also revealed that her father served many raw foods and (sometimes gross-tasting) healthy concoctions to Ani's family when Ani was growing up. But Ani is a foodie, and prefers her own tastier recipes now. Ani also doesn't mind the pleasant side-effects of her clean, healthy diet, in the form of clear, glowing skin, mental clarity, and a lot of energy for her many physical fitness endeavors. She enjoys dancing, kickboxing, hiking, weight training, running, biking, swimming, and working out in general.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> In addition to being a physical powerhouse of a woman with all of the above activities, Ani has written several books (find them </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ani-Phyo/e/B001JOYRVE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1332388819&amp;sr=8-1" target="new&quot;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on Amazon), contributes to a variety of blogs, magazines, television, and other media, and hosts her own Youtube cooking(/un-cooking?) show. In the late 1990s, she founded a catering company which went on to provide healthful menus and foods to clients like Whole Foods Market, Carnival Cruise Lines, STOMP, and Adidas. Ms. Phyo currently runs her own </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.gosuperlife.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">online store</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, in which you can find all sorts of accessories and food for the raw lifestyle</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. In her "off" time, Phyo teaches urban farming skills to underprivileged youth, works with several animal-friendly charities, and she loves to travel the world. She also is an attractive, fit 43 year old.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Even if you are familiar with Ani, you may not know that she is also a multimedia wiz, and formed her own multimedia company in the mid 1990s, which often hosted multimedia events for various big-name clients. Ani also taught multimedia classes at 3 California universities, helped to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div style="display: inline !important; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">produce numerous websites for clients, and</span></div></span></b></div></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> contributed CG animation work to a Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe movie called </span><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114857/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Virtuosity</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ani is a trailblazer, an entrepreneur, and an intelligent and kind individual who encourages people to adopt healthy changes at their own pace. She feels so strongly about the benefits of her virtually unprocessed diet and active lifestyle that she of course suggests that others try it, but she knows that everyone moves at different speeds. She has said that what works for her might not necessarily work for everyone else. Making good choices for animals and the environment is important to her, but she urges people to be mindful of their own nutritional needs when making any kind of dietary transition. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Ani, you're pretty much going to be our go-to in the Hot Vegan Army. Whether we're stranded on some tropical island where all of the hot vegans are forced to wear nothing but army fatigue swimsuits and leaf skirts (but I digress...) and we need someone to make us food with no electricity, or we're launching a global multimedia campaign for healthy veganism, we know you'll be in there pitching. And besides, you can teach us all to grow food and be even more attractive while covered in dirt....</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Ani, welcome to the Army.</span></div></span></span></b>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-25273254146003425572012-03-20T13:27:00.010-04:002012-03-22T01:22:51.800-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #20 - Jared Leto<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xe0ekmr8w7U/T2jeJ491AmI/AAAAAAAAAVA/vV9w1l6bL6I/s1600/Jared_Leto_vegetarian_vegan_1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xe0ekmr8w7U/T2jeJ491AmI/AAAAAAAAAVA/vV9w1l6bL6I/s550/Jared_Leto_vegetarian_vegan_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722067588066116194" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://forgotmypursee.blogspot.com/2012/01/jared-leto-to-world-im-sexy-and-i-know.html</span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Jared Leto</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">An array of movies such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Requiem for a Dream</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fight Club</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Panic Room</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">American Psycho</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Thin Red Line</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Girl Interrupted</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Urban Legend</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Prefontaine</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and many others. He rose to considerable prominence in the mid-nineties for his part on the cult hit tv show </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My So-Called Life</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, as the object of a teenage Claire Danes' affections. You may also know him from his band 30 Seconds to Mars. </span><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://jaredleto.com/thisiswhoireallyam/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://jaredleto.com/thisiswhoireallyam/</span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's veg(eteri)an:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Leto seems to be a bit cryptic on this matter (in fact, I can't even quite confirm that he is completely vegan or simply full-time vegetarian), but his meat-free choices appear to be at least partially due to his concern for the environment. While on tour in 2006, Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars traveled in a tour bus powered by vegetable oil, and worked to minimize their carbon footprint as often as possible. While filming a music video in Greenland, the band actively minimized energy use, and used renewable energy as often as possible. The band also launched </span><a href="http://www.abeautifullie.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">abeautifullie.org</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to bring further awareness to environmental issues around the world, and to give people ideas about ways to help these causes. Leto also contributed the cover art for a compilation album called</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_97X_Green_Room:_Volume_2" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">97</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="toctext"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_97X_Green_Room:_Volume_2" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">X Green Room</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, on which Leto's band appeared. Proceeds from this album benefitted the Nature Conservancy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Whether you agree with the guy or not, he's got some </span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ardent</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> fans, steady credits in both the acting world and the music world, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">killer</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> abs (more impressive when you don't kill anything to get them), he's received numerous accolades for his acting roles (many of which are NOT likable characters), and the guy still looks 20 at 40 years old. He may have been called "pretty" a time or two in various media outlets, and, yes, some people may have meant this in an insulting way, but you can insult me with the word "pretty" any time you want...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also, the guy's a chameleon. Just Google his picture. You'll be hard-pressed to find him sporting the same look for too long. And, honestly, why only praise the ladies for changing their style? I don't even know what color Rihanna's hair is right now. She gets bored, she changes it, then people follow her lead. Most people don't tend to watch the Oscar red carpet for the men, but if the men switched it up more often, wouldn't you be a bit more curious to see what they were doing? If Russell Brand [or insert other male celebrity of choice] decided to dress as a peacock to attend the Golden Globes, tell me you wouldn't at least <i>try</i> to see a picture online...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">One of the things I appreciate consistently in a performer is shamelessness in their performance...and I'll tell you why. Don't you sometimes wish you could get up in front of a crowd having NO idea if they'd like what you were doing, perform your heart out, and get off the stage feeling like the same person no matter what the crowd thought of you? If they like you, great, if they don't like you, you've lost nothing of yourself. I admire that. Especially if you wrote whatever it was you performed. Coincidentally, Jared Leto writes most of 30 Seconds to Mars' songs. He also directs most of their music videos.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, whether or not you are going to start (or add to) a poster collection of Jared Leto on your walls now, just know that this guy hikes, paints (he studied it in college), writes music, travels the world, performs with his band, turns down jobs when he doesn't want them, supports political figures and charitable organizations that he believes in (see </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Leto" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">philanthropy</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), and still jumps around like an active kid at 40. Plant-based diets can't be all bad...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Jared, you and whatever you bring to the party are welcome anytime in the Hot Vegan Army. If you happen to somehow see this post, your thoughts on veganism might inspire someone here, and would be greatly appreciated. And, given what we've seen above, we won't even require you to wear a uniform. ;-)</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-86473530108870674372012-03-19T01:45:00.003-04:002012-03-19T03:38:51.875-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #19 - Leona Lewis<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgSadIaTolY/T2ba_K24YFI/AAAAAAAAAU0/pSFkrnr_ULk/s1600/Leona_Lewis_vegetarian.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgSadIaTolY/T2ba_K24YFI/AAAAAAAAAU0/pSFkrnr_ULk/s550/Leona_Lewis_vegetarian.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721501155401949266" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://leonalewisfans.blogspot.com/</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Leona Lewis</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know her from: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ms. Lewis won the British version of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">American Idol</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the X Factor</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">) back in 2006, and she's had some pretty spectacular things happen since then. She performed with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page at the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, contributed the theme song to the wildly popular movie </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Avatar</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, won 3 Grammy Awards, and saw her single </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bleeding Love</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> hit #1 in 30+ countries. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Lewis is also working to release a vegan and eco-frieldly clothing line. In fact, she's been walking a number of red carpets in her own designs lately, and seems poised to join the ranks of Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga in presenting unique and eye-catching outfits to the world. Leona's 3rd studio album will also be released toward the end of summer this year.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Website:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.leonalewismusic.com/us/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.leonalewismusic.com/us/</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's vegetarian: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The soulful singer has been a vegetarian since the age of twelve, and animal welfare has been a priority for her ever since. She was an ardent supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals before she ever became famous, but designed a campaign for them called "Animals Matter to Me" once she became a household name. The WSPA, much like PETA, is working to ensure that animal protection laws are not only improved, but also enforced. One of the more important issues to Ms. Lewis is the current global trend towards the slaughter of healthy horses (which is only getting worse with the economic downturn) for meat or industrial products. Leona follows an only partially-vegan diet at this time, but she does not wear any clothing made from animals. PETA voted her Sexiest Vegetarian Alive in 2008.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Besides her impressive vocal talent, which - at least temporarily - even left Simon Cowell speechless, Leona is a driven and principled woman. She learned to play the guitar and the piano when she was a child, and wrote her first song at the age of 12, already sure that she wanted a career in music. She also studied opera when she was younger, which she continues to practice today to maintain her voice. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">More than the above, however, I am impressed by the strength of Leona's character. Her morals are worth more to her than money or prestige, and she's proven it. She turned down an estimated $1 million offer to have her vegan clothing line sold in a special sale at the world-famous Harrod's Department Store back in 2008. And the reason? Harrod's Department Store continues to sell clothing made of fur year after year. Maybe they haven't seen PETA's Skinned Alive videos. I am almost hesitant to link to this because I found it so sickening, but if anyone you know EVER buys fur products, or is considering doing so, please show them </span><a href="http://features.peta.org/ChineseFurFarms/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">this video</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. I will warn you, the images in this video are incredibly disturbing, because the global fur trade is incredibly disturbing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Well Ms. Lewis, I applaud your campaigns to bring animal welfare issues to a wider public audience. I am sure that you will continue to speak out about about global cruelty to animals, and I hope you will consider - at least gradually - upping your weekly dosage of vegan foods. Besides, all my voice teachers in the past always told me that dairy isn't good for your voice anyway ;-) But I think your consistent animal advocacy warrants you a spot in our Army ranks just the same.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Welcome Leona. I think with your powerful voice you'll have to sound the wake-up alarm in the morning. We'll even give you a viking helmet with plastic horns and you can practice your </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Der </span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ring des Nibelungen</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></span></span></span></b></i></span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-13607359924327832172012-03-18T22:58:00.009-04:002012-03-19T00:19:36.109-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #18 - Jason Mraz<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dC8U5l6YX9U/T2azKh2wbqI/AAAAAAAAAUo/_R1dLtYCON0/s1600/Jason_Mraz_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dC8U5l6YX9U/T2azKh2wbqI/AAAAAAAAAUo/_R1dLtYCON0/s550/Jason_Mraz_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721457370088894114" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.billsilvaentertainment.com/client/1/jason-mraz/</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Jason Mraz</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> His popular albums and radio-loving hits such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Remedy (I Won't Worry)</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'm Yours</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lucky</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (duet with Colbie Caillat), amusing online-only hit </span><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdryssUmlpE&amp;ob=av2n" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Geek in the Pink</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and my personal favorites </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You and I Both</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'll Do Anything</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Too Much Food</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (it's clever, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iiifjzc_hY" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">check it out</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Curbside Prophet</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. His hit single, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I Won't Give Up</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> can currently be heard online or coming from a radio near you...</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://jasonmraz.com/?show_preorder=false" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">www.jasonmraz.com</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's vegan: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mr. A-Z is a raw vegan, at least for the last 6 months or so. He seems to have been another </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forks O</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ver Knive</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">s</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> convert, but he's also a pretty-eco friendly guy. I mean, you cannot get much more hippie (and I mean that as a compliment) than living on your own solar-powered avocado farm. It kinda sounds awesome to me though. I have often said I would bathe in guacamole, and I probably actually could if I had that kind of ingredient supply... But Mr. Mraz has also credited his new diet with improving his performance in lots of important areas: songwriting, biking, working out, mental clarity, confidence...and he also says he's better in bed now. Well, it should come as no surprise that Mraz is advertising this fact, as he has kind of written about his libido for years. But, ladies look out because Mraz just had a smashed avocado sandwich and he's lookin' for love... :-)</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I've appreciated Jason Mraz's clever songwriting and sense of humor since his </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Waiting for My Rocket to Come</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> album back in 2002. Although, if you read the last paragraph, you'll know that Mraz doesn't have to wait quite as long for </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">that</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> anymore...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Additionally, I've always been impressed at how Mraz doesn't get tongue-tied with all of his complicated word combinations. Sometimes, I'm exhausted even walking around trying to sing along in the house...But, despite the smooth voice and impressive linguistic abilities, he's always had kind of a youthful jokiness about him that is incredibly refreshing, and I just find it fun listening to his music. He's worked with some big names too in his day, including the likes of Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and Alanis Morrissette, some of my favorites. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's also nice to know that Mr. Mraz is conscious of taking care of himself with his food choices and exercise, the environment with his green lifestyle choices, and also other people. Mraz is affiliated with a number of charities, such as Musicares, Free the Children, VH1's Save the Music Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, the Surfrider Foundation, and </span><a href="http://www.liferollson.org/site/c.9rJLK3MLJfLWH/b.7535757/k.BF1C/Home.htm" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life Rolls On</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now, I know that this may be fox-in-the-hen-house kind of material here, but Mr. Mraz, you are now in charge of lullabies and bed checks for the Hot Vegan Army. With great power comes great responsibility...aaaand you're welcome.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-58811683345419815222012-03-17T15:59:00.004-04:002012-03-17T17:36:42.185-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #17 - Carrie-Anne Moss<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kC_cw5AAbnw/T2T5GxR70UI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/MWHooCNF10g/s1600/Carrie_Anne_Moss_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kC_cw5AAbnw/T2T5GxR70UI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/MWHooCNF10g/s550/Carrie_Anne_Moss_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720971321370464578" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://gallery-hot-photos.blogspot.com/2012/02/carrie-anne-moss-gallery.html</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Carrie-Anne Moss</span></span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Global hit movies such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Matrix </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">trilogy, cult suspense-thriller </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Memento</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and the beautiful and satisfying </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chocolat</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. She also appeared recently in several episodes of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chuck</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the geek-turned spy comedy (of which I am a fan) on NBC. She also worked as a model and soap star in her 20s. I'm excited to tell you she was also on an episode of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Baywatch</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> back in the mid-90s (check her -and her sizable hair - out catching the eye of the 'Hoff </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNWmHo-05Vk" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">!)</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie-Anne_Moss" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie-Anne_Moss</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> She initially became interested in becoming a vegetarian during the shooting of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chocolat</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in France. She used to walk past pastures filled with cows in the small rural French community all the time, and spend a good amount of time near those pastures in between shooting days. She began not only to like the the cows on a friendly, familiar level, but to notice their personalities, which reminded her of her pet dogs. She became disenchanted with eating steak, now making the connection of where it comes from. Carrie-Anne also has an affinity for raw foods, and is a fan of raw foodie and author </span><a href="http://www.aniphyo.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ani Phyo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. This might help explain why the beautiful 44-year-old Moss has such beautiful and glowing skin, whether she wears make-up or not. Many sources of health and nutrition information out there today tell us that incorporating organic, raw fruits and vegetables into one's diet will tend to do wonders for one's inner health and outer appearance. Moss is known to frequent organic farmer's markets these days, and I, for one, am convinced to join her given the results.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's awesome: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She's pretty much pulls off the role of a strong, smart, badass woman in everything I've seen her in, which definitely encourages more of those sorts of roles to be written for women in general. Despite her often feisty on-screen persona though, she seems to be rather refreshingly shy and retiring in her personal life. I tend to think that, when possible, keeping one's private life somewhat private encourages healthy personal relationships. This certainly seems to be true for Ms. Moss, because Carrie-Anne is a happily-married mother of 3 these days. Due to her roles in the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matrix</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> movies, however, she still can't wear sunglasses in public without someone recognizing her. She has managed to break the curse of the major hit blockbuster though, as she appears still be working steadily, years after the global phenomenon of the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matrix</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> has calmed down. This statuesque beauty is also from Canada, and I basically love that entire country. So she gets a few more points for that too. And for the fact that she bravely moved off to Europe at the age of 20 to pursue modeling and acting. Following one's dreams can often be an intimidating thing to do, and I admire her for her follow-through in that regard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So Ms. Moss, what with all of the fight-training you went through during the filming of the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matrix </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">series, I think you should be responsible for physically training the rest of the Hot Vegan Army...and for making us raw green smoothies.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-55350019676557467172012-03-16T20:22:00.005-04:002012-03-16T21:50:55.750-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #16 - Joaquin Phoenix<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tYNA8hY-Dl8/T2PazBbcokI/AAAAAAAAAUE/2GFzjRGN6qI/s1600/Joaquin_Phoenix_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tYNA8hY-Dl8/T2PazBbcokI/AAAAAAAAAUE/2GFzjRGN6qI/s550/Joaquin_Phoenix_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720656521782403650" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.tapeta-joaquin-czarne-phoenix-wlosy.na-pulpit.com/</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div>Joaquin Phoenix</span></b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Know him from:</b> This Oscar-nominated actor is probably best known for his admirable portrayal of Johnny Cash in the movie <i>Walk the Line </i>opposite Reese Witherspoon. He also featured highly in two of M. Night Shyamalan's movies, <i>Signs</i> and <i>The Village</i>. He played a prominent role alongside Russell Crowe in the 5 time Oscar winning <i>Gladiator</i>, and in the gritty <i>We Own the Night</i>. He has been acting since childhood, and has had quite a large number of other movie and tv roles since the early 80s. He just finished filming a movie called <i>The Master</i>, currently in post-production, which also stars Amy Adams, and is currently filming an as-yet-unnammed film alongside Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Website: </b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Why he's vegan: </b>His oft-repeated story is that he became a vegan when he was just a tiny 3 year old tot, after he saw a fish beaten against the side of the boat on a fishing trip. He said he realized at that moment that <i>that</i> is what it takes in order to eat animals: a living being has to die violently. He and his four siblings all grew up vegan. Joaquin loves tofu and vegetables, and he always wears only animal-friendly clothing. He recently filmed a pro-vegetarian Thanksgiving PSA for PETA, which you can see <a href="http://www.peta.org/features/joaquin-phoenix-turkey-ad.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">here</span></a>. This animal rights activist also lent his voice to the documentary <i><a href="http://www.documentarywire.com/earthlings" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Earthlings</span></a></i>, produced by day #3's Maggie Q, which reveals the horrific way that most animals and animal products arrive on one's plate. Ellen Degeneres has credited this movie (nicknamed "the vegan-maker") with solidifying her resolve to adopt a plants-only diet and lifestyle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Why he's awesome:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> Besides the dark and mysterious, kind of "bad-boy" good looks, Joaquin Phoenix has shown that he will not compromise his beliefs for convenience. He apparently wore all-pleather jackets during the filming of <i>Walk the Line. </i>He has also said that producers on the sets of his various movies have been very accommodating about making sure animal-frienly options were always available for him. In fact, famous vegan cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a pretty funny story about how she had to make vegan egg rolls for one of JP's movies filmed in NYC, as Joaquin had to eat an egg roll while walking down the street in a scene. Read her hilarious take on the whole odd situation <a href="http://www.theppk.com/2007/11/mrs-joaquin-phoenix-and-egg-rolls/" target="new">here</a>. </span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">One of the many reasons that I like Joaquin is because it is hard sometimes, even for a vegan like myself, to look at the harsh realities of what happens to animals the world over, either for fashion, food, or merely for increased profit margins. Joaquin seems to stare these realities in the face constantly, and try to lead others by example and by education. And plus, he's really good at his job. If you haven't seen the movies listed above, particularly <i>Walk the Line</i>, go find a way to see them. I bet you'll have a new respect for the guy, especially if you currently only know him for his publicity stunt from a few years ago...</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Which brings me to what some of you may have been thinking the whole time reading this article: that Joaquin Phoenix is just a weird guy. His scruffy, out-of-it appearance on the <i>David Letterman Show</i> back in 2008 and the veritable media firestorm that followed is probably what caused this reaction. Apparently, however, the whole stunt was actually just supposed to become a part of a "mockumentary" film that Joaquin Phoenix was making with fellow actor Casey Affleck. The storyline was such that Joaquin was "quitting acting" to become a rapper. Now, I'll grant you, this whole thing clearly didn't go well, and perhaps Casey and Joaquin might have wanted to film this scene on <i>Letterman</i> separately for the purposes of the movie, or at least let Letterman in on it...</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">But regardless, here is the way I think of it. Many of our favorite actors and actresses have been part of some TERRIBLE movies in their time, whether before or after they were famous. Sometimes the acting business is hit or miss. And, sometimes, I would imagine it's tough to be inside this sort of closed-off world and still have any sense of how things would look from the outside. Look at many of the box-office bombs that have existed since the early days of the movie business. None of those movies would have been made if the people working on them thought they'd do that badly. </span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Entertainment is incredibly subjective. And initial public opinion tends to count for a lot in terms of whether an artistic endeavor gains or loses momentum. Just think of what would have happened if the first people to see Michael Jackson's <i>Thriller</i> music video had hated it. It was a really weird concept if you think about it. These zombies rose from the dead to take part in some wild 80s fashion and dance it up Jackson-style. It was odd, and people could easily have seen it that way. Or take Lady Gaga's fashion sense. People could easily think of it as weird, but they have chosen to think of it as ground-breaking. That is really "the line" one "walks" in entertainment, you're either brilliant, you really missed the mark, or even worse, you were "predictable."</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">So, that said, Joaquin, welcome to the Hot Vegan Army. I am thinking that since you are such a master of disguise that you'll have to infiltrate the enemy camps and covertly plant some vegan lasagna. Report back here when finished. </span></b></span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-65763860108139836972012-03-15T21:44:00.008-04:002012-03-15T23:06:19.666-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #15 - Jenna Dewan Tatum<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X2d1-uzG9ZI/T2KdLW_78YI/AAAAAAAAAT4/iy_4QafE00g/s1600/Jenna_Dewan_Tatum_vegan_hot.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X2d1-uzG9ZI/T2KdLW_78YI/AAAAAAAAAT4/iy_4QafE00g/s550/Jenna_Dewan_Tatum_vegan_hot.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720307295191822722" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.splashnewsonline.com/2011-01-20/justin-bieber-joines-up-with-peta-to-make-u-smile/spl227725_001/</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Jenna Dewan Tatum</span></span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> You may recognize her from her breakout role in the dance hit </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Step Up</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and another dance-centered movie called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Take the Lead</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. She was also cast for </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Playboy Club </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">series on NBC which was set to air last Fall, but enjoyed only a short run. However, this talented dancer has previously worked with a number of big name music acts, most notably Janet Jackson, 'N Sync, Ricky Martin, Toni Braxton, P. Diddy, Missy Eliot, and Celine Dion. She has also appeared in music videos alongside Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera. She's married to Channing Tatum, star of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">21 Jump Street</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, whom she met on the set of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Step Up</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, in which the couple played the 2 leading roles.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenna_Dewan" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenna_Dewan</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Jenna has been a vegetarian about as far back as grade school. She recalls sending in an application to join PETA at a young age because she didn't want to eat anything that had a "mom," and she agreed with PETA's mission to help animals everywhere. After learning about some of the cruelty that takes place on dairy farms, she became a full-fledged vegan about 2 years ago, spurred on by an article in the </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/07/conklin-dairy-farm-abuse_n_637847.html" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Huffington Post</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. She says that the dietary change has done wonders for her skin and her energy level.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Ms. Dewan-Tatum is an exceedingly talented woman who exudes confidence (watch her in this Step Up medley from about </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlllBAM3dY" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">minute 4:10</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; her now husband joins her around minute 5). She is clearly very comfortable with her body - although who wouldn't be given the evidence (go ahead and stare, no one's watching)...She is kind and clearly cares about animals, even if they are not "cute and fluffy," like the exotic snakes on whose behalf she poses above. She is another athletic and high voltage person who shows us all that you can live very healthily on plants alone. In fact, it seems she must be a pretty good cook too, because she sent a vegan recipe in to the Ellen show. I think it's been passed around the web a bit, but here it goes again! (</span><a href="http://ellen.warnerbros.com/recipes/vegetarian_vegan/jenna_dewan_tatums_vegan_spinach_and_quinoa_enchiladas_0819.php" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Vegan Spinach and Quinoa Enchiladas</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ms. JDT seems to be of a similar mind to myself in terms of PETA's famously sexy ads on behalf of vegetarianism. Use whatever tools you've got (and Jenna sure has 'em) to stand up - or lay down on a large fallen log - for what you believe in. If even one person starts to think more about living a cruelty-free lifestyle because of ads like these, they've done their part. I know that judging someone based on their physical attributes might seem superficial, but, again, the point I am trying to drive home here is that vegan ≠ hobbit. You can look like a million bucks on a plant-based diet, so don't let that myth stop you from looking into it. If you are thinking about trying a vegan or vegetarian diet, please read up on it to make sure your nutritional needs are taken care of, but the sky's the limit, and you'll be in some good company.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Ms. Dewan Tatum, since you know so much about camouflage, I think you'll have to be in charge of painting up all of the other hot vegans in the Hot Vegan Army so we can have the element of surprise - as well as the lesser-known element of *</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbUpGoOjFWw" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">wolf-whistle</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">*.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-33804743029635750172012-03-14T23:22:00.010-04:002012-03-15T01:32:18.734-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #14 - Rich Roll<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y2ZmMUk1Ehk/T2F51CXYxHI/AAAAAAAAATs/h6m-Z4HYYJA/s1600/Rich_Roll_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y2ZmMUk1Ehk/T2F51CXYxHI/AAAAAAAAATs/h6m-Z4HYYJA/s550/Rich_Roll_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719986953812231282" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>http://blog.nativefoods.com/nativefoods/2011/05/rich-roll-vegan-ultraman.html</i></span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Rich Roll</span></span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Know him from: </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">In this case, you may not have heard his name - unless you are a constant watcher of CNN, or a follower of long-distance races - but Rich Roll is a world-class athlete. One of his biggest claims to fame was the completion of 5 ironman-distance triathlons (each one on a different island of Hawaii) in under one week. Rich has also been a top finisher in the Ultraman competition twice. Have you heard of the Ultraman World Championship? The 320 mile race is basically a </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">double</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> ironman-distance triathlon that takes place over the course of 3 DAYS. The last day of the competition involves a DOUBLE MARATHON, yes, if one weren't enough. The competition is so elite that only 35 participants (chosen by </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">invitation only</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">) are allowed to participate. And Rich did his first Ultraman competition at the age of 42, training for the competition for only 6 months, and having never competed in a triathlon before. Oh, and by the way, Rich did all of this on a vegan diet. </span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Website:</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> (appropriately enough) </span></span><a href="http://www.richroll.com/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://www.richroll.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why he's vegan: </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Like Isaiah Mustafa and Brendan Brazier, Rich decided to go animal-free because of what it could do for his sports performance and general health. At the age of 40, Rich decided to take back control of his life. Rich was (and, to the best of my knowledge, still is) an entertainment lawyer, he was 50 pounds overweight, and just not where he wanted to be in his life. Many of us can kind of relate, right? Rich had been a competitive swimmer in college, but left his athletic lifestyle behind after graduation. To celebrate his 40th year on earth and start living the way he wanted to, he became a vegetarian, then a strict vegan, started swimming and working out again, and dropped those pesky 50 pounds. He says that becoming vegan was not his original plan, but he started to feel energy that he hadn't felt in years due to his new clean eating style, and that energy is what really got him to start exercising and taking care of himself again.</span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Why he's awesome:</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> Even when you read interviews with Rich, he just seems so energetic, but calm at the same time. I know that "calm" and "energetic" together kind of sound like an oxymoron, but allow me to clarify that a bit further. You get vicariously enthusiastic listening to Rich talk about his health routine and lifestyle, because he is excited about it. But, at the same time, since Rich is now living the kind of life he wants to, he doesn't seem anxious or like he would prefer to be anywhere else or doing anything else. He credits his health routine, including a dedicated practice of yoga in addition to his competitive workouts, for helping him be at peace with himself. He's a happy husband and father of 4, and he's worlds healthier than he was even at the age of 30.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">In terms of the diet itself - sort of along the same lines as Rip Esselstyn - Rich and his family eat plant-based foods prepared as simply as possible, as close to their natural state as they can manage. According to an interview on mindbodygreen.com, Rich says that his primary staples are:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(23, 22, 22); line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">"</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">A ton of organic locally grown produce is the focus – we purchase most of this weekly at our local farmers market. Kale, beets, carrots, spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli, avocados, asparagus, artichokes &amp; plenty of fruits. Almonds, almond butter, gluten free breads. Quinoa, brown rice and brown rice pastas; potatoes &amp; yams. Flax seeds, flax, olive &amp; hemp oil. Coconut milk, water &amp; ice cream. Almond milk, maca, chia seeds, Veganaise..."</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I dunno, that sounds pretty good to me. Rich says he hasn't even gotten a cold in the past 2 years. He believes that a vegan whole foods diet is his "secret weapon" - maybe not so secret now - but he considers it the key to optimal health. And, looking at him, I find it hard to disagree. If he actually still ate cheese, he could probably grate it on his abs...</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So Rich, I admire you for living your optimal life, and for inspiring us all to do the same. I think we're going to send you on reconnaissance missions for the Hot Vegan Army. I might just be guessing, but I'm pretty sure you can get basically anywhere faster than the rest of us...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">For those interested in learning more ab</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">out Rich's incredible transformation story and diet, his "memoir" and book of recipes is set to be published this summer.</span></span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-34973907738951476502012-03-13T23:45:00.008-04:002012-03-14T00:59:49.011-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #13 - Carrie Underwood<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EQv9-nepDsM/T2AjH40mVKI/AAAAAAAAARw/mVJhnWV6MDs/s1600/Carrie_Underwood_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EQv9-nepDsM/T2AjH40mVKI/AAAAAAAAARw/mVJhnWV6MDs/s550/Carrie_Underwood_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719610145179587746" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://newyork.olx.com/carrie-underwood-play-on-tour-tickets-iid-63157887</span></i></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div>Carrie Underwood</span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Carrie began her impressive rise to country music superstardom as a contestant (and winner) on the fourth season of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">American Idol</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> back in 2005. She's been a constant feature in entertainment and music magazines (and she's shown up on plenty of their covers) ever since. She's won several Grammy Awards and Country Music Awards (and plenty of other awards), and has even been nominated for a Golden Globe for her song </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There's A Place for Us</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> from the movie </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Some of her most famous songs are </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Inside Your Heaven</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jesus Take the Wheel</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Before He Cheats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cowboy Casanova</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Last Name</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So Small</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ever Ever After</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (from Disney's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Enchanted</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oh, Love</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, a duet with fellow country star Brad Paisley. She's a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Her newest music video for the song </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Good Girl</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> can be viewed at her website below, or via </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-uothzTaaQ&amp;ob=av2n" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Youtube</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/home" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/home</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Carrie grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, and first became interested in vegetarianism when she was 13 - once she learned the fate of the animals on her family's own farm. She says that it was difficult to be a complete vegetarian in Oklahoma at the time, but she gave up red meat immediately, and became meat-free at age 21 when when she moved away from home. Last year, she made the jump from vegetarian to vegan, citing lactose intolerance as a large contributing factor. But Carrie is also an animal lover, so much so that she was once quoted as saying that being around animals was</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Underwood" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">more important to her than singing</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">She is also a spokeswoman for the Humane Society, and has done PSAs for that organization, as well as for PETA, and a special "Protect Your Pets" campaign for Do Something.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Carrie is not only beautiful and kind, but she's smart too. She was an honors student all through school, and she graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University. She's also kind of a model for keeping one's dreams alive. She had a record deal in the works when she was 14, but it fell through, and she had more or less given up singing after high school. Thankfully for all of us who like her music though, she got another chance when she tried out for </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">American Idol</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in 2004. She's sort of living the American dream these days, singing and traveling around the world, and she and her husband, hockey player Mike Fisher, seem to be very happy together. As far as I'm concerned, Carrie seems like a down to earth person with her head on straight. She has a great sense of humor, and admits that there's no rulebook for the business she's in, so she just kind of goes with the flow. She's very talented and likable, and I'm sure she'll have a great career in show business for as long as she wants one. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Carrie, I would like to cordially invite you to join the Hot Vegan Army, because I know that you could keep us all focused on what's important in life. You've got guts and a good head on your shoulders, and we would sure be pleased to have you in our ranks. You're definitely in my Hall of Fame too.</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-5294184594036810462012-03-12T01:29:00.010-04:002012-03-12T04:16:25.476-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #12 - Prince<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjmAtuB4MU8/T12J76NAeFI/AAAAAAAAARk/A99U8eI1Uh0/s1600/prince_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjmAtuB4MU8/T12J76NAeFI/AAAAAAAAARk/A99U8eI1Uh0/s550/prince_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718878764159498322" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://blogs.suntimes.com/ourtown/2009/03/</span></div><div><br /></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Prince</span></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> He's Prince!!!!!!! I'll say this though, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Little Red Corvette, Kiss, I Wanna Be Your Lover, 1999, When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Purple Rain </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(song, album, and Academy Award-winning movie!), </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I Feel for You</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cinnamon Girl</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, etc etc. 7 Grammy awards</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)</span></a></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The facts are just slightly cloudy here, but I'll give it a go. Prince was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, a Protestant Christian denomination. However, it is particularly common for Adventists to be vegetarian because they believe it glorifies God to preserve the integrity of the body, and a vegetarian diet is thought to be the most healthful. Alcohol and caffeine, while not prohibited, are not advised either. Now, to the best of my knowledge, Prince was not actually raised to be a strict vegetarian, but, given his upbringing, it probably would not have been much of a leap. Reportedly though, Prince has been vegetarian since about 1987. In an article in <i>Vegetarian Times</i> published in 1997, Prince described he and his wife Mayte as "complete vegans," noting that they were so for both spiritual and health reasons. Prince also served the crew of the magazine </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Esquire</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> a 4 course vegan meal at his Minneapolis estate back in 2010.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The often outrageous performer is notably very private when he is not on stage, especially in recent years, but there are murmurs about his vegetarianism all over the web. PETA notes that the performer won't "</span><a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">eat anything with parents</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">," because he takes the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" very seriously. Coincidentally, PETA fans think that that stance is pretty awesome and voted Prince Sexiest Vegetarian Alive in 2006. It seems that His Royal Purpleness does not wear leather or wool either. In 1999, he actually published notes on the cruelty of wool production in the liner notes of album </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Check out those notes </span><a href="http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/Prince/default.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The absence of animal-based clothing has certainly not slowed Prince down style-wise. Just Google him. Seriously.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Instead of just writing "He's Prince!!!!!" again, I will actually form longer sentences, though please note that the above would suffice. Besides being a sexy </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjotAV39vA&amp;feature=results_main&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL4514A2553B8C248C" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">@#$%!^%</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (please note, this video is not appropriate for younger audiences and is NSFW!), Prince is a talented and iconic musician, and he's a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. More importantly, there is no one else in the world that is quite like him. Wouldn't we all want that said about us? He's just cool, and unusual, and talented - and a vegan! And, additionally, I also get really excited when someone just about my height is successful in entertainment. Is that weird? If it is, I don't care. Lots of people have said that Prince is weird, and he's been laughing all the way to the bank for decades ;-) And don't even </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">try</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to beat him at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=11927" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">basketball</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (try watching from 1:45 to avoid lead-up)</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also, I've been avoiding the obvious here, but Prince was one of the most ostentatious sex symbols of the 80s, and it didn't really stop there. His explicit subject matter and lyrics, not to mention videos and dance moves, were anything but subtle, and even kind of legendary. Many of his songs could have arguably started with "Dear Penthouse..." In fact, there was a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filthy_Fifteen#Actions" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">national committee</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> formed to deal with explicit songs like his; a committee which supposedly started when a shocked Tipper Gore heard her daughter listening to Prince's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Darling Nikki. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Songs composed by Prince actually landed themselves on the very top 1 and 2 spots on the above committee's "Filthy Fifteen" list of particularly distasteful songs. So you see, before Prince actually became a symbol (in a brilliant move that got him out of a contract with Warner Brothers, who had trademarked the name "Prince";</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">see "stage names</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"), he already was one.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, I'm thinking, Prince, that maybe you can plan all of the Hot Vegan Army's strategic moves from now on. Besides the fact that you are kind of known for your impressive moves, your detractors have never stopped you from being you, or from being a compassionate human being. I know you're a non-violent kind of guy, but don't worry, that's what the Hot Vegan Army is all about. Besides, you're ridiculously ahead of your time. You wrote your first song at the age of 7, and you were planning for 1999 back in 1982. We could use that sort of forward thinking around here...</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-66459623010503807452012-03-11T20:54:00.005-04:002012-03-12T01:33:27.932-04:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #11 - Kristen Bell<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYWNMN_ns4I/T11Ja2jbxAI/AAAAAAAAARY/63xOyPE-8gE/s1600/Kristen_bell_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYWNMN_ns4I/T11Ja2jbxAI/AAAAAAAAARY/63xOyPE-8gE/s550/Kristen_bell_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718807827499959298" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://fr.flash-screen.com/free-wallpaper/kristen-bell-maxim/kristen-bell,21778.html</span></i></span></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Kristen Bell</span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know her from:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> It depends how long you've been looking (and listening)! Ms. Bell attended the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where she studied musical theater. She started performing on Broadway shortly after she left school, but most would say that Kristen had her breakout role in the teen detective series </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Veronica Mars</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in 2004. After that, she tackled the powerful role of a superhero in the NBC series </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Heroes</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Her star really started to rise though when she played the title role in the raunchy comedy </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forgetting Sarah Marshall</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, set in Hawaii, in 2008. Let's just say the sight of this girl in a bikini is not hard to take. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You may also know her from her varied roles in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Couple's Retreat</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> When in Rome</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You Again</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Scream 4</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and from her return to her musical theater roots in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Burlesque</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">alongside Christina Aguilera and Cher. Her notably beautiful skin has also landed her a number of commercial and print ads for Neutrogena. Some may also know K-Bell from her behind-the-scenes work as the voice of the narrator in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gossip Girl</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristen_Bell" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristen_Bell</span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's vegan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Kristen has been a vegetarian since age 11 (due to her love of animals - and vegetables), but she and fiancé Dax Shepard both decided to go vegan together after seeing the documentary </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Forks over Knives</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Bell fostered several animals back in her home state of Michigan, and has worked for years with the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.aspca.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ASPCA</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and various animal protection organizations. She has several rescue dogs at home, one of whom was saved from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Many people may also be familiar with Kristen Bell's intense love and obsession with sloths, and her subsequent </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5jw3T3Jy70" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(happy) meltdown</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> when she learned that her fiancé had procured a sloth for her 31st birthday party.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why she's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Firstly, it is hard to miss KB's obvious beauty and physical fitness. Maxim named one of their Hot 100 from 2005 to 2007, and PETA named her Sexiest Vegetarian Alive back in 2006. But in addition to being gorgeous, having a phenomenal sense of humor, and some serious confidence, talent, and guts (I mean </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-PCLG0SLkU" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">seriously</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), she also seems to be a really nice person. She is not just an animal lover, but is also a humanitarian, and has been an active advocate of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Children,_Inc." target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Invisible Children Inc.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> since her days on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Veronica Mars.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> She even persuaded other members of the cast and crew of that show to help the organization and its work with children in civil war-torn Uganda. Many times, a famous face and a good heart like Kristen's can really bring awareness to a worthy cause.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ms. Bell, I think we will have to draft you to the Hot Vegan Army in a diplomatic capacity. I believe that you would inspire a lot of people to try a more cruelty-free lifestyle. In fact, I kind of think you are really a superhero, but I won't tell anyone...</span></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-89724514034705690652012-03-10T16:39:00.006-05:002012-03-10T19:48:43.213-05:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #10 - Anthony Kiedis<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7Q4AEIZtx8/T1vKR-f2uMI/AAAAAAAAARM/ZRCx3HViIHY/s1600/anthony_kiedis_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7Q4AEIZtx8/T1vKR-f2uMI/AAAAAAAAARM/ZRCx3HViIHY/s550/anthony_kiedis_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718386562060171458" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/who-is-your-favorite-lead-singer/question-1069273</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Anthony Kiedis</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> California-based band Red Hot Chili Peppers, formed in 1983, and still performing today. Their 10th studio album was released in August of last year, and the band is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April of this year. Anthony Kiedis' characteristic voice and lyrics have helped to create such memorable hits as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Aeroplane</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Dani California</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Californication</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Give It Away</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The Zephyr Song</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and Under the Bridge.</span></i></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Kiedis-Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers/8208419329" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Kiedis-Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers/8208419329</span></span></a></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's vegan:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Kiedis has been a vegetarian since the 1980s, but he went vegan in 2008, just after his son was born. Among his reasons for going vegan were the global crisis of overfishing, and the fact that a doctor actually recommended a healthy vegan diet for his son. Shortly after going vegan, Kiedis reportedly saw behind the scenes videos of factory farming, which "</span><a href="http://www.peta.org/features/sexiest-celebrity-vegetarian-alive.aspx" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">sealed the deal</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">" for him.</span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I don't know if it's the luxurious rock star hair, the badass tattoos, the voice, the often sensitive and revealing lyrics, the whole California vibe, or the love for animals, but Anthony Kiedis has just got that certain something. It could be that he also pretty much went without a shirt - and sometimes even pants - for much of the 1980s and 90s. He and </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCYMGCcazek&amp;feature=related" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Taylor Lautner</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> must be secretly related... He's also managed to survive the limelight all these years, while doing what he "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Kiedis" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">was put on this earth to do</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">" creating and performing music with his friends; music that is notably enjoyed throughout the world. He's also a proud father to son Everly Bear, born in late 2007. In 2008, Kiedis was voted Sexiest Vegetarian Alive, along with Leona Lewis, in PETA's yearly poll.</span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anthony Kiedis' success now seems like rather a given, because many of us have known about him in some form or other for probably decades. But the fact is that Kiedis has overcome a lot to get to this point in his life - or even just to make it to the ripe old age of 49. If you were to look at his childhood, it would seem that he was more likely set up for failure than rock stardom. He reportedly started using cocaine and marijuana with his father when he was just a child of about 11, and he started using heroine when he was 14. Kiedis continued to struggle with drugs on and off until the year 2000, when it seems that his hard-partying lifestyle finally began to calm down. The music, luckily for us all, did not stop at that point. Albums </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By the Way</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stadium Arcadium</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'm With You</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> have all been released since 2001. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kiedis published a telling memoir called </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scar-Tissue-Anthony-Kiedis/dp/1401307450/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1331421789&amp;sr=8-1" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Scar Tissue</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in 2005, and </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he is currently working with the cable station FX to create a television series about his unusual childhood and life story. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Hot Vegan Army is more than willing to welcome members that have gone through the wringer and come out on top. And honestly, especially considering all of the hard times he's been through (including a broken back when he was 15), Anthony Kiedis is one fantastic-looking nearly 50-year-old man. He is of Lithuanian, Dutch, English, French, Irish, and Mohican ethnicity, and is somewhat famous for his trim surfer's physique. His experiences have made him a singular and interesting human being, and one hopes that this calmed-down phase of his life will become a constant state for this talented individual. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Truthfully, the Hot Vegan Army is more about showing the individuality of people who share particular choices and motivations than it is about blending in anyway. One does not have to fall into a specific category to be vegan, and the vegan and vegetarian ranks are expanding all the time. If you have a suggestion for an individual who you think should be included in the "army," please drop me a line by commenting on any of the posts in this series. Thanks for reading all.</span></span></b></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-70186807686433371692012-03-08T20:23:00.006-05:002012-03-09T16:31:50.020-05:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #9 - Petra Nemcova<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2wQZLBJq1Xc/T1p1MVkWwTI/AAAAAAAAARA/ofzPlSuKQk8/s1600/Petra_Nemcova_vegan_dress.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2wQZLBJq1Xc/T1p1MVkWwTI/AAAAAAAAARA/ofzPlSuKQk8/s550/Petra_Nemcova_vegan_dress.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718011531708776754" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/Petra+Nemcova</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Petra Nemcova</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know her from:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> This Czech beauty has graced MANY magazines over the course of her career, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2002-2006. She is an international model who has been part of ad campaigns for a slew of big name companies including (but most certainly not limited to) Victoria's Secret, Max Factor, Benetton, Pantene, Bulgari Sunglasses, Clarins, HP Intel, Cartier, and Rampage. She also competed in 2011's 12th season of Dancing with the Stars. Perhaps the most notable reason that you may have heard her name though is because she survived, against terrible odds, the devastating tsunami in Thailand back in 2004, which was caused by the Indian Ocean Earthquake. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Website: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.happyheartsfund.org/" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.happyheartsfund.org/</span></span></a></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's vegan: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Petra is a very globally-conscious person, and she became a vegan in 2007, largely to make a public statement against global overfishing. However, her choice to avoid meat and dairy also gives the impression that Petra disapproves of other unsustainable practices of food production.</span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why she's awesome:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> It's hard to figure out where to begin on this topic, because Petra is quite an amazing human being for many reasons. I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention the story of her survival in the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. During the unexpected and horribly destructive flooding, Petra's fiancé, photographer Simon Atlee, was swept out to sea, and Petra's pelvis was broken in 4 places. She survived this ordeal by clinging to a palm tree that was partially above the rushing water </span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">for an estimated 8 hours</span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. She had an extraordinary will to live, and she is a survivor in the truest sense of the word. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Petra is not only amazing for having survived this terrible tragedy, but for the hope and help she has given others through the Happy Hearts Fund, which she created in 2005. This organization was created and underwritten in such a way that 100% of all donations would be provided to helping children in the recovery efforts after the Indian Ocean tsunami. This organization has been expanded to help other disaster relief efforts since then as well. The HHF helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Peru in 2007. The organization was also active in Haiti years before the horrible earthquake of 2010, and continues to help in the wake of that disaster. HHF is also working to help Japan recover from its own terrible earthquake and tsunami in 2011.</span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Petra is a global activist and humanitarian, and a very bright and intelligent woman. She speaks 6 languages, and was appointed Honorary Consul from the Czech Republic to Haiti in late 2011. She is now married to British actor Jamie Belman. One hopes that with all she has been through, and all that she has accomplished in the world, that she has now achieved some of that happiness she's worked so hard to bring to others. She is a genuine role model, and I am wowed by her.</span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Petra, you are an amazing human being, and an inspiration to us all.</span></span></b></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358008969507588078.post-9362942752272720882012-03-07T23:14:00.009-05:002012-03-08T01:42:05.793-05:00March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #8 - Andre 3000<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8OJaDufMsC0/T1hQs6ePCCI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/Op3mi47m4w0/s1600/Andre_3000_vegan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8OJaDufMsC0/T1hQs6ePCCI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/Op3mi47m4w0/s550/Andre_3000_vegan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717408459487381538" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/IMG/Andre_3000_photos_5_-pictures-4547-4860.html</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Andre 3000</span></b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Know him from: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Andre 3000 (or Andre Benjamin as some call him) is perhaps best known for the flamboyant and attention-getting outfits he performed in as part of wacky hip-hop duo Outkast. As you can see, the tradition continues even now, though it seems Andre is set to be a solo act going forward. Along these same lines, Andre released a clothing line back in 2008 named "Benjamin Bixby," a kind of old-fashioned and preppy line with some unusual twists and details that seem characteristic of Andre. He's also shown up in a recent Gillette razor commercial, dubbed one of the "Masters of Style."</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_3000" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_3000</span></span></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's veg(etari)an: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Andre declared himself a vegan back in 1996, though there is not exactly a wealth of information on the internet about why he chose this style of eating. One would tend to get the impression he was inspired by his former relationship with singer Erykah Badu, with whom he shares a child. Erykah Badu has been an active promoter of veganism for quite a while. However, it's been said that Andre does eat honey once in a while, which most vegans consider a no-no due largely to issues of large-scale honey farming. However, Andre was famously quoted as saying that he would probably eat broccoli as his</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://vegetarianstar.com/2008/11/30/andre-3000-benjamins-last-meal-on-earth-broccoli/" target="new&gt;&lt;span class=" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">last meal on the planet earth</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://vegetarianstar.com/2008/11/30/andre-3000-benjamins-last-meal-on-earth-broccoli/" target="new&gt;&lt;span class=" style="color:#3333FF;"></a>, and he even shared a favorite recipe for a vegan staple, kale, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/images/magazine/2012/02/andre-3000-napkin-800.jpg" target="new&gt;&lt;span class=" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/images/magazine/2012/02/andre-3000-napkin-800.jpg" target="new&gt;&lt;span class=" style="color:#3333FF;"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, but be warned, he wrote it on a napkin</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why he's awesome:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> To put it simply, Andre 3000 is an original. Hip hop duo Outkast was born out of Andre and Big Boi's teenage collaborations, and the two went on to win 6 Grammy Awards together, and produced such memorable hits as "Ms. Jackson," "Hey Ya," and "B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad)." Andre and Big Boi also were part of a really interesting and odd musical film called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Idlewild,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> which I can say I actually caught in the theater back in 2006. It is set mainly in a prohibition-era speakeasy/night club, and features some anachronistic bluesy-hip hop music that was just perfect to showcase Outkast's mold-breaking song stylings. The movie also had a soundtrack of the same name, which was pretty cool also. Since then, Andre has collaborated with other musicians such as Ke$ha, Lil Wayne, Beyonce, Ciara, John Legend, and Gorillaz. Back in 2004, he was declared by PETA to be the Sexiest Vegetarian Alive, along with Alicia Silverstone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So overall, I guess what I am trying to point out here is that creative types can just as easily be fueled by plants as they can by meat and dairy. Andre is definitely known for surprising people, and making standout, original performances on the stage, runway, or big screen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Please note</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: I have found several sources that state that Andre 3000 still wears leather occasionally. Both vegans and vegetarians generally take issue with this, especially if they have chosen a meat-free diet for animal welfare reasons. One could potentially say that they follow a vegan "diet" rather than a vegan "lifestyle," but generally speaking, if you wear leather, you are not a vegan. And, as far as I'm concerned, it was a lot easier to give up leather belts for the rest of my life than to give up cheese at first. So Mr. 3000, if this is true, please don't wear leather or other animal products, you have a bountiful army of hotties just ready to welcome you with open arms as soon as you ditch the leather.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, while Andre may be peeling lots of potatoes for the mess hall at the moment, I am still going to go ahead and let him join the Hot Vegan Army. I am not sure if he'll dig the whole concept of "blending in" with those camouflage army fatigues anyway, but I'm sure he'll knock it out of the park helping us plan for our talent show....</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDPmA-3YTCw" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Call the Law, and let's go out ;-)</span></span></a></div>Worldly Vegetarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221992679565137325noreply@blogger.com0